Apparatus for riveting plates of ships



March '28, 1933. Q G, H, BATES 1,902,821

APPARATUS FOR RIVETING PLATES OF SHIPS Filed April 18, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 1 avweutoz March 28, 1933. G. H. BATES 1,902,821

APPARATUS FOR RIVETING PLATES OF SHIPS Filed April 18 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Elnoentoz strength is ensured when the hydraulic beyondthe opposite plate.

Patented Mar. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES GEORGE H. BATES, on caANroR-nTOWNSHIP, union county, new Jnnsnmnsslenon INCORPORATED, on NEWYORK,'1\T. Y., A CORPORATION OF TO UNITED DRY BOOKS, NEW YORKApplication filed A ru 18,

The improvements relate primarily to means and methods of riveting theshell plates of steel ships, but are not limited to this specific use.

In the'building of the steel ships the outplo-yed, hydraulicallysqueezed rivets are used for the plates forming the upper part of theshell, Where the greatest strength is required, rather than pneumatic orhand hammered rivets, and in applying these rivets a pressure as high assixty tons or more is employed, the hot rivets being inserted throughthe rivet holes with the flange of the rivet head against the outersurface of one plate and the end to be upset or headed projecting Ahydraulic bull riveter is then placed in position against one end of thehot rivet and a"holder on or anvil against the other end, and thehydraulic pressure applied until the rivet is squeezed or pressed homeand headed up.

Rivets in excess of an inch in diameter are commonly used for thispurpose, and thorough tests and examination have demonstrated thatgreater and more uniform squeezing method is employed, thus addinggreatly to the factor of safety anddurability.

When the plating is first applied to the frame'in building up the hull ayoke is usual- 1y employed in the hydraulic method. This yoke consistsof a substantially U-shaped rigid steel frame of great weight andstrength which may be hung over theupper edges of the shell courses withits arms extending down on opposite sides of the plates, so that theyoke straddles the said plates. The hydraulic operated press or ram ismounted at the endof one arm of this yoke. and the holder-on or anvilopposite it in alignment therewith on the end of the otherarm, so thatPATIENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR BIVETI NG- llLATES 0F SHIPS 1930. Serialno. 445,240.

when the riveter head and anvilare applied to opposite ends of a rivetand hydraulic pressure applied to the riveter, the rivet willbe'squeezed orpressed home between them and headed upon one side,thenecessary backing on both sides in thisoperation being provided by thetwo arms of the yoke. 1 l The yoke riveter may be moved along th upperportion of the hull to drive orsqueeze,

rows of rivets uniting the'lapped edges of two courses of plates orstrakes and then raised and moved along to drive the next row of rivets.It may also be worked vertically to drive the rivets joining thestrapped or lapped butts of the plates of a strake.

It will be seen that on account ofthe high pressure employed in thissqueezing method,-

and the necessity of, moving the yoke, there V is a limit to the lengthof the yoke due to the fact that great mass andweight of metal must beemployedto resist the stress imposed thereon by the pressure; Yokescommonly employed are limited to a length ofapproximately ten feet,andin this size will weighas much as seventeen tons or more. It willalso be seen that in repairing andreplacing the plates of a ship-whichhas been dam aged in collision or by heavy seas, or other causes, theemployment of a yoke below decks is not possible without the removal ofdeck stringers, a portion of the decks,'the plates above those damagedand in some cases other parts, which would increase cost of the repairsenormously. Yet, as above noted, hy-

draulic squeezing of the rivets in ships of great tonnage is-required.The necessity for this will be understood whenit is pointedout 7 thatsteel plates one andone quarter inchor 1 to a tremendous strain, whichwo'uldnot be a safe procedure, with the plates secured only the rivetedporf the ship, since this woulds'ubject such parts by temporary bolts,and would also =necessitate' the removal of floors, partitions and otherpartsand would -atthe .same time-inidrawings, employed'in the mannerdescribed,

these appliances and this method of employing them being described andshown'as an illustrative embodiment of the invention, but

26 not as a limitation thereof, since it is obviousthat.variousmodifications thereof may be employed without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

In thesaid drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of a hydraulic rivetingapparatus embody:

ing the present structural imporevements and adapted to be employed inpracticing the present improved method or process;

Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same,

lookingin the direction indicated by the arrows in Figure 1 Figure 3, isan elevation looking outboard or in the direction indicated by the arrowin Fig. 2. y

The appliances illustrated in the drawings comprise a pair of steelplates 1 and 2 of heavy steel, reinforced and rendered rigid by,integral heavy steel flanges 3, 3 and 4 v respectively and straps 5 and6 secured to said flanges and running across the same"; connectingv andadjusting rods .8 bolted through the plates 1 and 2 and spacing them;an'anvil or holder-on 9 backing against the plate 1 and a hydraulicriveter 1O backing I against the'plate 2, both movable thereon; air

rams 11 and 12 carriedby the plates 1 and 2 respectively and spacing andadjusting stops 13 and 14 on one of the rods 8.

.The plates 1 and 2 with their reinforcing members constitute. what arecalled strongbacks to receive the pressure of the riveter, and'theconnecting rods are passed through the plates A to be riveted. For thispurpose rivet holes may be taken advantage of, or

i other holes may be drilled through the plates.

It is also possible to use port holes or any other openings in the hull,if convenient.

The rods 8 are preferably connected with the strongbaoks bybeing passedthrough the rectangular platesl and 2 near their four corners, and areheld against longitudinal 'movement and the plates held against movementthereon or with respect thereto by means of nuts 15 and 16 on oppositesides of the plates ,and on the threaded ends 8' ofthe rods. Thisarrangementpermits the accurate adjustment of the plates so that theywill be disposed in planes exactly parallel to each other and heldsecurely in this relation... This is important for the reason that ifthe plates were not so disposed the pressure caused by the hydraulicriveter would causea twisting strain or torque on the plates and therods, which would tend to distort these parts and also buckle therods,and to cause them to bind in the holes of the plates through whichthey are intended to slide freely. Parallelism is also essential to.proper squeezing and heading of the rivets. The rods number 3 in eachgroup, and are arranged in line, but any other suitable number of rodsand any other satisfactory arrangement may be employed.

The rods may also be otherwise distributed and the plates may be ofother size, form and construction, it'being contemplatedthat theinsideplate may be of small area, Where the compartments in the hull are suchthat an inside strongback of the same size as the outside strongbackcannot be conveniently.

used.

It has been found desirable to lubricate the rods and the holes in theplates in which they work with lubricating grease, so that they willslide freely therethrough and will not bind, but this is not essential,and any other means for preventing binding may be employed. 7

The entire structure backs and connecting rods may be supportedvertically in any suitable manner, as by slings or chains hung overheador by blocks or rails placed beneaththem and on which theymay slide.This makes it possible to have the including the strongstrongba'ck andits support entirely between decks B and G, as indicated. In order tohave the inboard back clear the deck beams D or other obstructions, itmay be mortised at the top as shown at 17, 18 and 19, or otherwiseshaped to clear them.

The holder-on'9 has its base I the plate 1 of the inboard strongback andhas its anvil shank 21 provided with a recess 22 to form a head on therivet, in the usual manner. The riveter 10 has its base 23 20 againstagainst the plate 2 of the outer outboard strongback and also has itsriveting punch or die 24: provided with the usual recess 25, to fit overthe head of a rivet or form a rivet head, as thecase may be. It also hasthe usual forward moving fluid pipe connection 26 and backing pipeconnection 7. f This riveter and the holder-on or anvil member may be ofany desired form. As illustrated, the riveter is of the usual hydraulicplunger form used with the yoke type bull riveter "and operates in theordinary way, and therefore need not be further described. The detailsof construction of the holder-on are also unimportant, so long as theconstruction'is such" as to provide a sufficiently strong and b rigidbacking or anvil. Both members may also be mounted on their plates inany suitable manner, so as to be moved-in both directions thereon tooperate on rows of rivets uniting lapped plates and similar rivetsuniting the butts of the plates. As several laps.

of the plates will be operated on between each deck and the next, insome cases, it is necessarythat the riveter and holder-on be movablesubstantially throughout the length and height of the backs. To this endthey may be hung on chains suspendedfrom any convenient overhead part orfrom the bars 8 (see F and G, Fig. 1) and provided with block andtackle, or other means for supporting these members and permittinghorizontal and vertical movement may be'used, such as beams mounted toslide up and down on which the riveter and holder-on maybe mounted toslide horizontally.

The stops 13 and 14 are employed when desired to limit and adjust themovement of the frame composed of the strongbacks and connecting bars bycoining in contact 7 with the plates A. They will not however be placedso that they will exert any substantial pressure against theseplates, assuch pressure might buckle the plates. Their principal function is'toprovide a guide which will enable the operators to ascertain that thebacks are accurately spaced.

The air jambs or rams 11 and12 are employed to move the backs in onedirection or the other to push the rivet through its hole 3 and dispensewith the use of a sledge for that purpose. Theram 11 moves the backs inan inboard direction and the ram 12 moves them in an outboard direction,the first by'pressing its plunger 11 against the inner side of the 40plates and the latter by pressing its plunger 12 against the outer side,so that the back in each case is moved away from the plates and theopposite back toward the plates. This movement brings one of theriveter-dies in contact with the head of the rivet, and holds it inplace until the hydraulic pressure is applied to .squeeze and set therivet. A rivet which has been thus squeezed, headed and set, isindicated at E (Fig. 2). Vvhen a rivet has been set, one of the air ramsis operated again to move the strongback away from the plates and permitthe insertion of anotherof the rivet, or by inserting the rivet from theinside, mo-vin theaiivil die against its h'e'ad and then setting it bymeansof the riveter die or head 24. In the first method, the rivet VerlO presses againstthehead of the rivet' and forces-the outboardbackaway from the plates and the inboard back carrying, the

' holder-on 9 against the rivet,and in the second method the riveterhead 24= simply: squeezes the unset end {of therivet down' while theheaded end on the opposite sideis held against the plate and alsosqueezedby the anvil die. In the first methodthe extending shank of therivet is set by the die 22 and in'the'second method it is set by theriveter head or die 24. In'both operations the head 24, which is 'theendof a plunger, is retractedwhile the rivet is being inserted, and-inboth"operations the" str'ongbacks are; moved inboard or outboard after arivet has-been squeezed to'permit the passing'of a-rivet in between thetwo riveting dies and through the rivet hole. In the first methodthe"rivet is pushed through the rivet hole by the die 24; actuated by theair rams, 11- and; in the second method it is pushed throughfrom theinside by the anvil die 21 actuated by the rams 12. I l 4 If desired,the relative positions of the hydraulic riveter and holder-on may be reversed, the former being inboard and the latter outboard. In practice,it has been foundmore convenient however to'have them arranged as shown,as the bulky hydraulic bull rivetercan be supported and moved moreconveniently on the outside.

When it becomes necessary to move the apparatus past one of the barsor-ribslof the ships frame, the connecting bars 8. are withdrawn fromthe rivet holes of the 'plates' and the two strongbacks moved past thesaid b'ar., The bars 8 arethen passed through other rivet holes and thetwo plates connected and adjusted for the riveting of another section orarea of the shell. It will be "seen that the adjustment of the platesand the movement .of the riveting devices issuchthattheplates may beriveted to the frame bars ofthe ship or to any other member'of the shipsframe 7 regardless of the thickness of the same or the 5 length of therivet employed. In fact the present apparatus can beadjusted and movedto any position necessary to do the work that is done by a yoke riveterduringthe original plating of the hull, and to do it at any time afterthe ship is completed and in commission.

An important feature of the imp rovements V resides in theconstructionand arrangement whereby the hydraulic. plungenand holder- V onconstitutingthe riveter proper are ad-' justable at all times and underall conditions so that the pressure of the riveter is IIOt QOIIT-municated to the shell or other part of'tlie ship'which is beingriveted.

While the accompanying drawings arenot T2130 intended to bemade toscale, it may be stated for, the benefit of those skilled in the art ander by the action of the hydraulic pressure backed by its strongback andthe anvil by the pressure of its strongback communicated toit fromthehydraulic riveter through the connecting bars. In this manner thehydraulic pressure in the riveter is caused to, act on both ends of therivet simultaneously.

It should also be noted thatby the use of the apparatus described a verygreat increase in pressure in proportionto the weight ofthe backing isobtained.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In an apparatus of the kind described,

a a fluid pressure device, a rivet holder-on and anvil device, the saidtwo devices adapted to be positioned opposite each other and on oppositesides of a sheet metal shell composed of plates positioned to be rivetedtogether and in position to engage and act against opposite ends of arivet passed through said plates, backing means for said pressure deviceand said holder-on with respect to which they are mounted for lateraland vertical movement, and means extending through said shell forconnecting said backing members and holding them against separatingmovement, whereby when the said pressure device is pressed against oneend of a rivet and the said pressure is resisted by the said holder-onin contact with the opposite end of said rivet, the said backing deviceswill hold said pressure device and holder-on against yielding movementdue to the connection of said backing devices through the shell, andwhereby said pressure device and holder-on may bemoved to engageopposite ends of rivets located at different parts of the shell withoutmoving thesaid backing means or disconnecting them.

1 2., In ardevice of the character described, a riveter and an anviladapted to be placed on opposite sides of plates to be riveted with arivet to be squeezed between them, separate backing members. for thesaid riveter and .anvi'lwith respect to which they are mounted to belaterally and vertically movable and members spacing and connecting saidbackingmembers, adapted to extend through said plates and located atpoints removed from the zone of operation of said riveter and anvil. a

3. In an apparatus: of the kind described,-

a hydraulic squeezing riveter and an anvil adapted to be placed'onopposite sides of- 7 plates to be riveted, backing members orstrongbacks against which the respective bases of said riveter andanvilare adapted to press, elongated connecting members adjustablysecured .to and v connecting said strongbacks at points laterallyremoved from each other and adapted to pass through the plates, saidconnecting members adapted to secure said strongbacks'in parallel planesand to adjust them with respect to said planes,

whereby pressure against a rivet in the platesplaced between the riveterand anvil will cause the anvil to. move toward said riveter. throughpressure of the strongback of said 4. In an apparatus of the kinddescribed,

a hydraulic squeezing riveter and an anvil adapted 'tobe' placed onopposite sides of plates to be riveted, backing members or strongbacksagainst which the respective bases of said riveter and anvil are adaptedto press, elongated connecting members adjustably secured to. andconnecting said strongbacks at points laterally removed from each otherand adapted to pass through the plates, said connecting members adaptedto secure sald strongbacksr IHPZLI'LllQlP'l8H16S and to adjust them withrespect to; said planes, whereby pressure against a rivet in the platesplaced betweenjthe riveter and an vil will cause the anvil to movetoward said riveter through pressure of the strongback of said anvilagainst it communicated in the form of a pull on saidccnne'cting'members and last named strongbackcaused by the said riveterpressing against itsstrongback and the said backs are moved in unisonand in adirection parallel to the line of riveting pressure, andpneumatically operated plungers connected with said backs and adapted topress against said plates to move the parts to riveting position andcause the anvil to pass a rivet in contact therewith through a plate,and to position for riveting.

5. In an apparatus of the kind described, a hydraulic squeezing riveter.and an anvil adapted to be placed on opposite sides of plates to beriveted, backing members or strongbacks against which the respectivebases of said riveter and anvil are adapted to press, elongatedconnecting members adjustably secured to and connecting said strongbacksat points laterally removed from each other and adapted to pass throughthe plates, said connecting members adapted to secure said strongbacksin parallel planes and to adjust them with respect to said planes,whereby pressure against a rivet in the plates placed between theriveter and anvil will cause the anvil to move toward said riveterthrough pressure of the strongback of said anvil against it communicatedin the form of a pull on said connecting members and last namedstrongback caused by the said riveter pressing against its strongbackand the said backs are moved in unison and in a direction parallel tothe line of riveting pressure, and a stop carried by one of theconnecting members and adjustable thereon and adapted to limit and gaugethe movement of the backs with respect to the plates. i 6. In anapparatus of the kind described,

a hydraulic squeezing riveter and an anvil adapted to be placed onopposite sides of plates to be riveted, backing members or strongbacksagainst which the respective bases of said riveter and anvil are adaptedto press, elongatedconnecting members adjustably secured to andconnecting said strongbacks at points laterally removed from each otherand adapted to pass through the plates, said connecting members adaptedto secure said strongbacks in parallel planes and to adjust them withrespect to said planes, whereby pressure against a rivet in the platesplaced between the riveter and anvil will cause the anvil to move towardsaid riveter through pressure of the strongback of said anvil against itcommunicated in the form of a pull on said connecting members and lastnamed strongback caused by the said riveter pressing against itsstrongback and the said backs are moved in unison and in a directionparallel to the line of riveting pressure, and the said riveter andanvil adapted to be moved to different positions vertically andlaterally with respect to said backs. Witness my hand this 8th day ofApril, 1930, county of New York, State of New York.

GEORGE H. BATES.

